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Jonathan and Seneca are visiting us this week to tell us more about Elektra. What did you learn from them that you didn't already know? What in particular did you like about their presentation. Give specific, concrete details.
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69 comments:
Bergen Anderson p. 2
Having Jonathan and Seneca coming to talk to us was very helpful. I have never been to an opera and I find it can be hard to follow all the music. However Jonathan taught us about the elements of music such as melody, harmony, rhythm, color, and form which gives me more understanding. It is very difficult to talk about music but Jonathan did a good job of explaining it to us. I think this knowledge will help me appreciate Elektra more and truly understand the pictures the music is painting.
Shae Hurst period 4
When Seneca came to tell us about Elektra on Wednesday I was surprised by how much I already know. He showed us the family tree of Elektra’s family and I was glad that I remembered Electra’s siblings, Orestes, Chrysothemis, and Iphigenia. The things that Seneca taught us about the five parts of music were completely new to me, however. I had never really thought about the composition of music before and I thought it was interesting to find out that practically all types of music have the five parts; melody, harmony, rhythm, color, and form. I am still a little confused as to what these parts are exactly. I understand that color is the types of instruments that rhythm is the beat and harmony is the cords, but melody and form are a little confusing. I was also very interested in what Seneca said about how Electra was huge at the time because it is a mixture of major and minor harmony. Also, I liked to listen to the different parts of the Agamemnon motif and hear how they compared. It was nice to hear them back to back because it made this easier.
Megan Lowry period 2
Even though I have been studying music since 5th grade, I still found Jonatahn and Seneca's presentation to be very helpful. I understand music, but it was really nice to have it all explained in the context of Elektra. It was interesting to hear the rhythm explained for each of the characters, how Chrsothymus and Elektra both had themes that were in the same meter, but were just a little differnt. This small difference totally changes the feel that the music gives to the character. Another thing that I found to be very interesting was the "loving family" theme, as Jonathan called it. I didn't catch that when we just listened to the recording in class.
Michelle Le, period 2
I learned so much from Jonathan and Senaca's presentation on Wednesday. I had no idea that there are 5 elements of music that you are supposed to be aware of when listening to an opera. Jonathan talked about melody, harmony, rhythm, color and form, and I'm glad he did because I didn't know very much about them before. My favorite was learning about color, and how we can interpret different moods from the instruments used in the music. It's weird how different sounds make us feel certain ways. I also liked how Jonathan played different phrases of the same motif to show us how the effect is different, like when the motif is played in major vs. minor.
Rebecca Taicz. Period 6.
It was definitely entertaining to have Seneca come talk to us last block day. Although as a musician I already knew a lot of what he talked about pertaining to the five elements of music, the idea of color was new to me. It was nice to learn about a whole new element, one that applies even easier to opera than it does to regular orchestral musical. The samples of music that he played to demonstrate the different motifs made recognizing them in the music easier. Before, the almost subtle motifs and themes in the music were often buried beneath the singing and louder instruments. When I got to listen to the motifs themselves, it helped me pick them out in a larger context.
Selena Swaim, per. 2
I am not a music expert or anything, so out of the 5 elements of music that Jonathan described, I probably could have only thought of melody, rhythm, and maybe harmony. However, I would have never been able to create a definition for them. For example, I may know that music simply has a harmony, but I didn't know what it was or how to look for a harmony in the music. I learned a bit about the element of color and how it related to Elektra. The composers do a great job of using different instruments to describe what is happening in the story. In the beginning when the maids were talking about flies, an instrument actually made the sound of the flies being swatted. I thought the most interesting part was hearing the motif of Agamemnon in several different parts of the story. The sound of Agamemnon is much different in the beginning compared to when it's heard while Elektra is dancing at the death of Klytamnestra. I had no idea that the same general motif can be altered to help portray the current mood.
Bryttany Enge, Period 6
Unfortunately I was not present for Jonathan’s presentation, however I thought Seneca’s presentation was very informative. Seneca’s presentation was very descriptive with his use of pictures, sound clips, and facts in his power point. He also went into detail with much of his power point’s focus’, including explaining about the Five Elements of Music. First, I didn’t even know of these five elements, even though they seemed quite logical after he explained each element. Learning about color as an element of music was most interesting. Seneca explained that color was the choice and the mixture of instruments to create lighter or darker sounds in which represented the mood or color of the music. This aspect of Seneca’s presentation was most interesting.
Chris Hong Period 6
Having Jonathan and Seneca talk to our class was really great. His powerpoint i thought was really detailed and clean. i also really liked how he had each singer's voice in the power point. That way we could compare and see which one we perfered. He definitely knew a lot about Elektra. I was very surprised when Jonathan talked about how much these Elektra singers get payed. It was a lot of money then i thought. that made me realize that someone who can actually sing Elektra was very rare and it was an incredibly difficult task. Jonathan's presentation made me realize what i need to study more and what i already knew/learned about Elektra.
Steph Morgan Period 6
I really enjoyed listening to Seneca talk last block day. I learned a lot of new things, because I’ve never been to an opera and I’m not very musically literate. One of the things I really enjoyed learning was the five elements of music. I had never heard about them before he talked to us. My favorite out of the five to learn about was color, because I had heard about musical color before but I never really knew what it meant, so learning about it was very interesting.
Mackenzie Engel
Period 6
Having never played an instrument for longer than a few months in my life, Seneca's presentation proved very helpful for me. I listen to and enjoy music on a daily basis but have never really been taught anything about its composition or the 5 components of music. I guess i have always a general understanding of melody (tune), rhythm (beat), and color (instruments), but i never really considered harmony or form. Apart from the 5 components of music i really liked that Seneca put up a family tree for us to look at and copy down because, even though i am familiar with the characters, i keep getting mixed up with who is who's parent or sibling and such. Also, i thought the activity where we chose which opera singer we liked better for the part of Elektra was creative and helpful because it allowed us to compare and contrast different versions (some better, some worse) of the same musical piece and apply our newly learned 5 components of music to them.
Jessica Karr p.4
Seneca Garber made the story of Elektra extremely clear and easy to follow. There were points of the story I wasn't quite sure about, but when Seneca went through the summary of the opera in layman's terms, it finally made sense and I felt like I could really enjoy it. I enjoyed how he talked about the different elements, and not only explained what each element is, but played pieces of music to demonstrate each element. I'd never thought about the separate elements, and pointing them out actually makes the music more interesting when I'm able to pick out the different parts.
Andrew Song Period 6
Some of the things i learned from Jonathan and Seneca were more about general opera itself, rather than about Elektra. I learned about the 5 elements of music: harmony, melody, rhythm, color and form. Also we learned about some different composers in the romantic period. I thought the bit about the different elements was cool. Its nice to know the differences between harmony and melody, because i always thought they were very similar.
Cristina Rice period 2
I really enjoyed having Jonathan and Seneca come. Jonathan explained the five elements of music. I used to play piano so I know alittle about music but this really helped me understand music better. The five elements are melody, harmony, rhythm, color and form. I believe these elements will help me when we go to the opera on Wednesday. One thing I liked about the presentation was when he showed us the motifs. I originally thought that motifs had to always be the same but I found out they can kind of change the notes a little so it still sounds like the same thing just maybe a little higher or slower. I think I might understand Elektra as a opera better now.
Preston Longoni Per. 4
I learned a lot throughout the presentation. I learned what 'color' means; I also had no idea that there was a difference between melody and harmony. The thing I found interesting throughout the entire powerpoint was all the little music buttons that he clicked which revealed music from opera's that put what he was trying to explain into context. My favorite part had to be when he had the four different opera singers and their voices and had us pick which one we liked best. I can't remember their names but I like the one in the lower right hand corner, which I believe was the one you liked best also. I thought how much they got pait per performance in one night was amazing. Overall I believe Seneca did an amazing job in explaining something as complex as music to us in a way that I could understand it this much more.
Kristina Thorson per 2
When Jonathan and Seneca came to talk to us i learned a lot. I learned more about the Music of Elektra and about the actual Opera. I learned more about the melody, harmony, rhythm, color and form of music. I took piano lessons when I was younger and learned a lot of theory which relates to this unit. I learned a better way to understand the meaning of music and a better way to describe music to someone else. I am so excited to see the opera on Wednesday. I have never seen an opera and am happy this is going to be the first one i see. In class listening to the music, I found the music to be amazing! I really like intense music especially for a very intense opera. Having Jonathan and Seneca coming to talk to us helped me understand the music of Elektra and made me excited to see the opera.
Brendan Cox Period 2
Having Jonathan talk in class was very helpful. I feel like I understand opera and the importance of music even more. Thanks to them I understand the melody, rhythm, color, and harmony of music. What I have learned from Jonathan and Seneca will help me appreciate and understand the next few sets of performances we see.
Stuart Dransfield period 2
Having Seneca come and talk to our class was very helpful. He knew so much about the opra because he is backstage all the time. I liked it when he showed us all of the opra singers because i never had a feel of how talented they actually were. I know that his presentation will help me a lot next time that we go to see another opra.
Porter Bree P4.
Well I was absent the day that Jonathan visited class. But I was there the day that Seneca came. And one thing I learned that I hadn't learned before was that the composer (Strauss) was one of the first composers to really toy with different instruments in order to create literal sounds i.e. fly swatter, cat clawing etc. I also learned that Strauss was one of the only composers that was so OCD, to the point that he went of the way to make all the sounds in hid play literal (so that even if you didn't know what was going on you could guess based on the music).
and i hated that Seneca only showed us examples of White composers from that period there were plenty of other races/elasticities starting a movement as well.
Montana Ferris / Period 2
Jonathan's presentation really helped me to understand each element that makes up opera music. I did not have any knowledge of composing music, so his lesson was very enlightening. He explained the five elements of music; melody, harmony, rhythm, color and form. I knew that melody means 1 note following another, but i learned that the notes can occur in a stepwise motion or a leaping motion. Harmony is the "vertical" melody. Lastly, I learned that color is determined by the instruments used. For example a trumpet would give off a sad sound. I liked how Jonathan played several music samples rather than just speaking about them. This helped the class understand and discuss their opinions.
Joel Maltos P-4
Jonathan was a pretty big thug. He came into the class and just threw down information. I learned a whole of new material on music, including melody, harmony, rhythm, and color. It was easy to comprehend what he was talking about because of his musical examples he had on his slide show. I also learned more about the story of Elektra and i have a little more sympathy for the mom now, because i now know Agamemnon was cheating on her. I learned tons of other things and the presentation really helped.
Jonathan was a great presenter. I hope next time, if they do come in again, Seneca has time with us too. I enjoyed following his idea's about music. With the five parts Color, Rhythm, Melody, Harmony and From. Going over each one helped me get a understanding of a opera in general. Music is one of those words that is hard to define, yet everyone knows what it is. Jonathan got me more excited to see Elektra and I can't wait for the show!
Having Jonathan and Seneca coming to talk to us was really helpful. It helped me understand more in debth about the family history of what was going on. Also it helped me understand more along the basis of a opera with the 5 key components of music. It really helps me explain music alot easier as well as understanding it. What i liked most about his presentation was him using key clips out of the opera to help him explain his examples. For example, when he used the motif of agamemnon or the other motif it really helped me understand the gist of what was going on.
Melissa Nimon p.2
When Seneca, and Jonathan came to talk with us I expected we were in for a pretty boring day, but that was not so. Jonathan really knew how to talk to an audience of teenagers. For the most part he talked about music and the 5 parts of it. Melody, harmony, rhthym, color, and form are what makes up music. I knew about melody, harmony, and rhythm, but I learned about color and form. Color isn't the shade of pigment that you see, but the shade of atmoshpere that a musical instrument creates. Form is still a little sticky for me but I am sure I will learn about that in class this week. It is amazing how little people know about something that is in their life everyday. I am sure I will enjoy Elektra.
Jinny Kim p.4
What I learned about Elektra that I did not know already is the five elements that really important to know before you go to opera or other performances. The five elements are rhythm, melody, harmony, color and form. These are help you to understand the performanc because these five elements are main things that make performance and shows the feeling. Opera, symphony or other performances have music, emotions, and backgrounds. So the sounds of music could make feels of performance and customs, background and colors also could make feelings of performances. As I learned this I think I could understand if I don't know the story about performances. It will helps me a lot to understanding the feelings of performances.
Ryan De La Riva
P-2
After hearing Jonathan speak to us about Elektra I feel more interested in seeing Elektra than I was before. At first I didn’t know really what to expect this play to be but after he spoke I think I have a better idea of what it is going to look and sound like. What I liked about their presentation was that they gave me information of how Elektra has been done in the past and not just what Elektra is about. I also liked the fact that he explained melodies, rhythm and other things that would help me understand the mood of an opera.
Kenna Campbell period 6
When Seneca came it was a good refreshing to music. Being in band and very interested in music it was nice to talk about the operas in a musical way other than it sounded loud, or good. I really enjoyed how he described some of the things like rhythm and harmony. He had his own little twist on how these things should be defined and it brought another light of what harmony or melody could be without being cliche.
Sam Bellefeuille P-6
Before Jonathan came into class i didnt really have that great of an idea about what the opera experience would be like. When he came in and talked to us, he taught me alot about the 5 elements of the opera. He had a very open knowledge of the opera and it was clear that he knew what he was talking about. I really liked how he brought in a power point because it is alot easier for me to learn visually. Overall i feel like i am caught up to speed on Elektra and i am excited to see the opera.
Rosie Polaschek, Period 4
As someone who couldn't play an instrument to save herself and has no knowledge at all of the workings of music, it was interesting to look at operas through the eyes of someone more technically knowledgeable, to learn more about the music and how and why it's actually put together. I didn't know anything about the elements of music really, so that was interesting and I liked that he then directly related that to Electra, so we were able to see solid examples of the elements. I also liked that he made his talk interactive and didn't just lecture, by getting us to choose our favourite opera singer etc.
andy wolfe period 2
when johnathan and seneca came and talked to us i learned alot about elektra that i will find useful when we go and see the opera on wednesday. having them answer our questions and having them explain to us about the music and basically everything that goes on in an opera was very useful. i didnt know much about the music so thats definitely somthing that i learned alot about from them so i now understand the components that goes into the music a little better. i also liked how he showed us the family tree because with so many people killing other people i get confused on who in related to who and who is getting who back for killing one of their relatives. its still a little confusing for me but i understand it ALOT better than i did before they came. i think that having them come was a very good idea and i know now that when i watch the play i will know more of whats going on then i did when we first started, and i will be able to follow alot and understand it.
I had learned about the five elements of music at different times in music/band classes, but mostly just talked about seperately and not how they come together as a whole. I know the meanings of each of the words; rythmn, color, melody, harmony, and form but to actually think about how complicated music really is when they are put into a work such as Elektra was fascinating to me. I always figured things just worked together as long as they sounded good and that's how music is made, which is partly true but it is also much more technical. An analogy that Mr. Schindler made was that it was like analyzing literature but even harder. Which I completely agree with and makes me think about having a more complete experience when we go to see Elektra this week. I also liked hearing about the two differant types of dances- a jig for Elektra and a waltz for Chrisothemis I think that also goes into analyzing how music can shape characters.
Jordan Adam Per. 4
Jonathan was legit. I didn’t know at least half of the things he discussed during his visit, and he made the whole listening/learning process interesting at the same time. I had never heard of the 5 elements of music, and knew nothing about stepwise and leap melodies. Learning about the musical aspect of the opera was much more interesting than the simple history behind the show covered previously in class. Though maybe that was due in part to the musical samples Jonathan always had at the ready. Being able to actually hear the musical elements he was describing gave me a fuller understanding of what he was talking about, eliminating the need to imagine how the music would sound. Admittedly, we listen to music samples in class already, but the quick succession that Jonathan presented his ideas and examples in made his point even clearer. His presentation was well executed enough that I’m quite sure that now I could pick out each of the five elements of music in almost any musical piece if I tried.
Andrew Kemis Period 6
The presentation by Seneca Garber was relieving in the sense that he was able to clear up the plot and characters in Elektra. The powerpoint presentation was an excellent way of displaying the information. Coupled with comparisons of music and pictures the powerpoint was interesting and entertaining. I learned that the Agamemnon motif is also called the "Triad." Although he spoke of the five themes of music, I don't feel everything was learned. Later it was confirmed that we were to revisit the subject. The most interesting thing I learned dealt with Froidian beliefs that go something along the lines of the daughter is in love with her father and the son is in love with the mother. This thinking would explain the grief and why Elektra is grieving. At the end of the opera Elektra dances herself to death. The dance as I learned is a jig and the dance is more of a peasants death than a dance for royalty. There is symbolizm and ways of interpeting this such as Elektra does not care about the type of dance, she is just thinking of her father.
LAcey Helmuth period 4
I learned a ton is new stuff from Seneca's visit. The first thing on my notes page is that the cast is based on voices. This seems pretty obvious, but what I didn't know was that all the voices can sound totally different. Some of the women had very powerful voices, while others had to work up the power to get to the high notes. Seneca talked about the Trojan War, which I was actually pretty lost on because I had no idea what went on. But now I know about Helen or Troy and how it was 10 years long.
A lot of people are mentioning the 5 elements of music that are important, and I still think it's hard to point ALL five parts of a song. I might be better at it, but could still work on finding form and color.
There are four motifs that I have down also. Agamemnon, the loving family, dancing, and the ax.
Kenny Exelby Period. 4
Having these fine men, Johnathan and Seneca come in a talk to us about Elektra was a wonderful treat. I really had no idea there were so many different attributes to every musical piece. He explained it very well, and I really can hear and visualize what the music is saying now. The time he spent on motifs was nice too, because there's a lot of repetition in opera music, and I really started to notice them after he talked about them in depth. its also amazing to know that all five elements of music are present at all times during any song, some are just more noticeable than others.
Stephanie Bateman period 2
I wish that Jonathan and Senaca could have talked to us longer. I know they gave me, and I think the whole class a better understanding of Operas. I haven't ever been to an opera and I wasn't (and still am not fully sure) what to expect. The main point that I found most helpful were how he said we need to learn how to "listen" to an opera. Also that you need to go to more than one opera to decide whether you like them or not. I mean considering out first opera is Elektra, he referred to it as a "halloween opera". Some might find it scary, but I think it'll be really entertaining. The five elements of music melody harmony rhythm color and form. Using all these elements we can learn how the opera is put together. I'm really excited to see Elektra.
DReisz Period 6
Having both Jonathan and Seneca come to talk to us about Operas was very helpful to me. I have never been to an Opera and never knew quite all that went into it, I still find it hard to follow the Opera singers but maybe thats because they aren't singing in English. But the style that Elektra is wrote in I think that i will have a lot of fun going to see that as my first Opera. I learned from them the 5 parts of music, and also some about Elektra family tree, and can't wait to see the Opera now.
Sam Franklin per 6
Having never been to or listened to an opera before I knew very little about them so it was really helpful having Seneca come and explain it to us in a way that everyone can understand. I liked the way he used the music clips and the PowerPoint to help describe different motifs, harmonies, and contexts that make up Elektra. Like how he played us a common Jig type music clip then played Elektra's Jig music to show the difference and similarity.
Tanner Low Per. 4
I thought that Seneca Garber gave a very good presentation about Elektra but i also felt like we had already learned a lot about the story line, the motifs, and elements of elektra. It was really helpful to have him explain the five elements of music, melody, harmony, rythm, color and form, and these elements and understanding how to use them in describing music, has really helped me be able to describe how the music makes me feel, in words. It was also really cool to hear the different people singing the part of elektra and getting a really good appreciation for how hard the part like elektra is.
Regan McComb p. 6
Jonathon's presentation was very informative and helpful because I've never played an instrument before and he explained very clearly the five elements of music - melody, harmony, rythm, color and form. Once we go to see Elektra I know that I will be able to see/hear each of these elements and how they all contribute to the play. Overall I think he did a great job and after listening to him I'm even more excited to see Elektra!
Kayla Aldridge
Period 6
I learned a lot of interesting things about Elektra as well as Operas from Jonathan on Wednesday. He taught us the five elements of music such as melody,harmony, rhythm, color and form. I had heard of these elements before but never really knew what each of them were, so that was all very interesting. I also like learning about the different types of dance that were involved in Elektra- the Jig and the Waltz. The powerpoint with all the pictures and music was very helpful in giving an idea of what was in store for the Opera. Overall I feel like I have much more knowledge on the story line and background of Elektra and am very excited to see it this week!
Andrew Pilgrim P-4
I really enjoyed having Seneca come to discuss Elektra with us. Even though we had read the study guide and knew a lot of the background of the opera already, he gave a lot of insight into opera in general and especially opera at that time. I really enjoyed hearing the different pieces of music from the composers of that time. I also did not realize the diversity that could be attributed to one small piece of music. Hearing the four different women sing that small segment from Elektra and having them sound so different was very interesting and surprising. I liked that Seneca was able to explain the different aspects of the opera: melody, harmony, rhythm, color and form without making it dry and boring, which he could have easily done. I learned a lot from Seneca coming in and speaking with us.
Sarah Elliott
Period 2
The most helpful thing I learned from Jonathan and Seneca was the aspect of motifs. We had discussed it before in class but they actually took it to the next level and showed us the motifs. For example, we learned a lot about the "Agamemnon" motif, like how it changes rhythm at the end of the opera. We also learned about Elektra's jig and her sister's waltz. I never realized how many actual dance motifs were also included in the opera many times. They definitely did a great job with giving examples to what the were saying with all the sound clips they had prepared. Overall they're presentation was very easy to listen to and I learned a whole lot from it.
Leticia Lopez Period 4
I liked that seneca Garber came. Basically he broke down the 4 rules of opera, told us how everything is set up. He helped us paint the picture like music wise. i really like the music in Electra and he actually helped me appreciate more what motifs they used in their harmony or melody or whatever. He kind of just helped clarify everything that Mr.Schindler was saying but i think i listened to him why, well i dont know why..but yeah im kinda stoaked...k-bye
I really enjoyed when our speaker came in to talk to us more about Elektra. I learned new things about music and the way its organized that i never new before. Things like the five elements of music. The melody, harmony, rythm, color, and form of music. I also learned about Elektra's five elements and the wya they fit into the music. I never new what a motif was either and i learned how it fits into Elektra with a recurring theme or idea and i learned about the different dances in Elektra. Things that i really liked about the presentation were things like that in the slideshow he had music so we could actually here he was talking about and understand it better. He also had a bunch of pictures which helped put a better idea in my head. We also learned more about other composers and the way they wrote and the variations of the music. I really liked the presentation and I'm glad i could learn more.
Chanelle Herrera
Period 4.
I like how Seneca Garber came to our classroom during our block period and talked to us about everything. I found it to be very helpful.
I have only been to one opera previous to this class and so I have very little actualy knowledge about music and so learning the five elements was nice for me. I was surprised becuase I kind of thought they were the same things until he explained them. And I like how he had examples of it from Elektra and I like how he taught us anything that was unclear about what we already knew about Elektra. Now Im defiantely excited for the performance.
Alyssa De Hoop Period 4
When Seneca first spoke he showed us the family tree of the house of Atreus and gave us a little background information about Elektra. He mainly taught us about the five elements of music: melody, harmony, rhythm, color and form. Melody is the tune in the song the notes can either step or leap. The motif "A-ga-mem-non!" is a kind of melody. Harmony is how you bring in other instruments or voices to make the sound more rich and interesting. Rhythm is the tempo the instruments create; it is what pushes the song forward. The color is what the different instruments add to the sound to make it interesting. An example of color is the fly-swatter sound at the beginning of the Opera. If you only listened to the music of Elektra it would paint of picture of what the song means. Form is bringing all those other elements together and how all of the pieces relate. Seneca also let us listen to other composers and performers and had us compare their different styles. You can use all of the five elements of music as a way to talk about the Operas you see instead of just saying "It was really neat!" I loved how excited and passionate he was during his presentation. My favorite part of it was listening to the different composers. I enjoyed their styles more so than Strauss’.
Tia Bailey P. 4
I wasn't here when the presentation was given, i was sick!
tia
Talia Cowan per 6
We had learned about the 5 parts to music, and I understood them all pretty well. Although, Seneca expanded more on the color aspect, which helped me understand more of what was being said. I liked the images that we could see to go along with the information, it added a mental image to our notes. I do kinda wish that we could have seen more of the pictures that Seneca skipped over.
Brian Penoyer, period 2
When Jonathan and Seneca were here, I'm glad they explained what the various pieces of music were, because although I've heard the words harmony and melody before I couldn't really define them. I also appreciated how they explained how each part of music fits into Elektra. I wish that we could have had more time with them because they really did seem to know alot and I would have liked to talk alot more about the version of Elektra we'll be seeing.
When Seneca came in and talked to us about Elektra it helped to further my knowledge regarding the opera. Actually seeing the family tree was one thing I appreciated. It helped me to better understand the family situation and put a visual in my head of how everyone was related, and i saw names i recognized like Aegisthus and Orestes. I also liked his concept of music having five elements which compliment eachother in order to bring it all together, and how he talked about different types of music will focus more on one element (rap focuses on rythym,etc.) Also his definition of a motif being a recurring bit of music throughout a play helped me to understand why I kept hearing the "Agammemnon motif". Anoher thing i enjoyed was hearing different people sing the same score of music. I thought it was neat to listen to different people sing it in their own way and how it would vary from singer to singer. I also liked listening to some composers at the end, my favorite was Ralph Vaughn Williams and i liked how different his music was but still fit into the "classical" genre. I hope we will be able to have more people come in and talk to us about the operas we will be seeing because it really helps me to get a better idea of what we will be seeing.
Gabe Gonzalez Period 2
I found that it was very nice to have such knowledgeable people to break down what happens in making the different parts of music work together so fluently. After watching Mahler's 8th Symphony, I was blown away by how so many musicians and vocalists could work together so well, and the presentation gave me a much greater understanding of what goes on behind the scenes to make it happen. I was hardly aware that music could be broken down so distinctly, and Jonathan's explanations of melody, harmony, rhythm, color and form have given me a much better perspective of opera heading into our performance of Elektra.
Mike smolkowski
Period 4
when seneca came, I thought i knew what was going on but once he explained it again clearly to me, I realized i didn't know it that well. Once he explained it to me everything became more clear. One thing that became more clear was everything about the family and how people were related and what not. One thing that was new to me was the five elements of music. I had never heard of anythign like taht before he told it me and i thought it was pretty interesting on how composers need to fit all 5 parts into almost every second of the performance.
After listening to Jonathan and Seneca I learned that every music piece has 5 elements; melody, harmony, rhythm, color, and form. I never realized that every musical piece has all 5 elements and not just a couple. I enjoyed the examples he gave us to listen to. They were very useful in giving us a better understanding of what he was explaining. I also liked how he got the whole class involved by having us pick our favorite singer. Now that we have learned about the opera, I just cant wait to go see it.
Karin Ochsner Period 4
Brendan Connor Per.4
I learned what rhythm, melody, harmony, color and form are from Jonathan Dean. Specifically, I learned what each is in terms of how it affects the music. I loved Johnathan's description of harmony, and how it is the vertical notes. I learned that rhythm directly affects the color of a piece of music, such as Elektra's jig.
Erika Hodges per.2
I unfortunately missed the presentation on our last block day. I have learned a lot about Elektra and her messed up family. The thing that I find most interesting about the opera itself is that the characters have their own instrument to be identified with. The most interesting thing is the color and I find it interesting that they use stage lights that are colored to set the mood and also identify feeling. I am really looking forward to elektra.
Christin Thrane period 4
I definitely appreciated having him come to our class. Learning the five elements of music, harmony, melody, rhythm, color and form, was something new for me because I did not know them before. I liked how he had a visual presentation which made it easier to pay attention. Also having him explain Elektra even more made it make more sense to me. Now, I think I will enjoy the performance even more when we go and see it.
Helen Wiltsey Period 3
First off I thought Seneca was a girls name, so when a male went up to the front of the room I was a little shocked, but not appalled. The information that I found most interesting was the 5 elements of music. I had never really thought about, specifically naming, the different layers to a musical piece, mostly just picking up on genre or the certain instruments. But what Seneca brought to our class was a new and inspired way to look at music and be able to relate it to the time period, the context as well as the listener, picking up on things like color of the piece, or melody, harmony or rhythm. I wish we had had more time to go over the whole slide show as some of the things he passed by quickly were intriguing.
Trisha Hancock period 2
When Jonathan and Seneca came to talk to us about Elektra, I learn about the five elements of music, which are, melody, harmony, rythm, color and form. I knew some of the elements but not all five so it was nice to learn about each one, and how they fit together. I use to play an insturment but I haven't for a while, so some of they stuff that they went over I remembered from back when i use to play, and some of they stuff was new to me. I liked the power point he had, and how he played some music for us to help us understand what he was talking about. I found that vey helpful.
Dathan Bauman per.2
I think Jonathan and Seneca talk to our class help me understand the defference between the differnet parts of music. I also heard how the differ styles of music creats a different emotion in the story. the powerpoint was also cool because it showed some sence from Elektra and how crazy she becomes in the end. They also cover some back story that i didn't know too. I think it would help if they came in again sometime so we had more time to ask questions.
Tess Opincarne
Period 6
I was unable to attend Jonathan and Seneca's presentation, but I was able to learn a little from the notes. I thought, of all the topics I saw, that the 5 parts of music were very interesting, and that knowing them and understanding them could help me to appreciate it more. Going over the notes, there were many sections that I didn't copy down because we had already covered them in class, so I can presume they gave a pretty detailed lecture.
Mandi DeLaVergne, P.6
When Johnathon came to talk to our class he had a pretty interesting presentation for us. We learned what happens before Elektra actually begins, which is the Trojan war and how Agamemnon has Iphigenia killed and such. He then went on to talk about some fundamentals of music and opera, which consisted of melody, harmony, rhythm, color, and form. These will be very helpful with any performance we attend. He also related these elements of music to the opera of elektra, and let us hear parts of the music and compare different singers. Lastly he talked about the dancing which falls under the rythm category, and how Elektra dances a lower class jig, while Chrysothemis prefers the waltz. It was a great presentation and i learned a lot through it.
Phillip Foshee
period 6
Before Johnathan came to talk to our class about Electra i had mixed feelings about how this opera was going to be.My thoughts were that the opera was going to be weird and that it had absolutely no meaning at all. After the power point presentation that he showed us i learned about the family tree of the house of Atinus. I also learned that the opera Electra is 400 plus years old. Unlike another plays this one is unique because the orcastra has 110 instruments making the largest of its kind. Having Seneca come in and teach us about Electra gave me a better understanding about the opera and i am really looking forward to seeing it this wendsday night.
Megan Pinzon period 4
Seneca showed us the five elements of music and talked about the story line of Elektra. When he was talking to us about Elektra I couldn't help but feel like we had already gone over it enough. Although I felt like I knew the five elements of music it was nice to have definitions and examples for each. What I found to be the most interesting was the music clips he played for us of the different music from that time period. I also liked hearing the difference between the four singers who sang Elektra's part.
Zoe Thiemann Per. 6
Jonathon gave us a lot of good information and was an interesting speaker to listen to. I did however know a lot of the information about elektra. I did like learning about the melodys and harmonys because once i got an understanding of the definitions, it's very easy to recognize them in the music when you listen to it. Overall just getting a better understanding of Elektra and the music will make going to it much more exciting.
Nathan Zimmerman Per. 6
Seneca's presentation in our class was very helpful for me. His insight into the play expanded what I already know. When Seneca was talking about the 5 elements of music, I was able to analyze what was happened during the short segments of music he played. Color I found was one of the most interesting elements to me because to define music as having a "color" was a different concept. After we discussed it in class I found it to be an interesting analytical tool. Another part of Seneca's presentation that I really enjoyed was the short clips of music to which he had us describe the elements present and the clips of the different composers of the time. The clips from Elektra helped me understand what Seneca was trying to say about the elements and the clips from other composers was just interesting in that it showed the variety in color from one piece to another.
Jacob Carpenter
Period 4
I enjoyed Seneca on Wednesday and I’m glad he could come to clear up some extra details. I thought it was interesting how he looked at music in 5 different ways. The ways being color, rhythm, melody, harmony, and form. I also liked how Seneca had up the family tree and briefly described previous relations with gods and goddesses leading up to Electra. Also He had a very open knowledge of the opera and it was clear that he knew what he was talking about. I can’t wait to see Electra, only 3 more days.
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